Adventure Lovers’ Paradise: Arches National Park [47 PICS]

Delicate Arch at Arches National Park ‘The iconography of time’ is the title given to this amazing long exposure capture. The photographer said, “Billions of years ago some of those stars sent their light on a journey to delicate arch long before its grains of sand had even settled to the bottom of a vast ocean. This complex intermingling of time and space and light fills me with much awe, wonder and inspiration. I live for these moments.” Photo #1 by Jason Corneveaux

Double Rainbow over Winter Camp Wash, Arches National Park. The photographer wrote, “While the arch was looking quite spectacular against the light of the setting sun, my attention was diverted to the Rock Settee pillar where a double rainbow had started to form from the small drizzle that was still pouring down. I got some really great shots of the Wash area while huddling myself and my camera underneath a tiny umbrella. Sadly, I was unable to change to a wider lens at that point. It was then I realized the need for an umbrella caddy. Any volunteers?” Photo #2 by Sathish J

NPS states, “Although Arches may appear harsh and unchanging, the desert ecosystem is continually evolving. Weather, climatic shifts and geologic processes continue to shape this environment as they have for millennia.” Photo #12 by Jon Sullivan

Landscape Arch located in Devil’s Garden. Landscape Arch is a very thin and long arch with a span of 290 feet (88 m). Devil’s Garden has many arches and columns scattered along a ridge. Photo #13 by NPS / Neal Herbert

The photographer noted, (Moab, Utah) “Some guy totally ruins an enthusiast photographer’s attempt at capturing the dawn serenity of Arches National Park’s North Window arch. Jumping photos take a few attempts to get a lucky frame like this one, and of course both dudes roadtrippn’ must pose in mid air, so double the attempts….The poor photographer in question can be seen in the upper right section of the arch; for once we were the early risers. Alas, the sun was already too high for him to get anything good so we probably did him a favor by bogarting his scene…” Photo #14 by Jon Martin

Sunrise on Thanksgiving Morning in the Garden of Eden in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah. The photographer added, “This is a seldom photographed view of South Window Arch and the eastern-most part of the rock formations that make up the Garden of Eden. The reason this view is rarely photographed is because it covers a 180 degree field of view from southeast to northwest. This is a panoramic image created from 10 vertical HDR frames. Photo #16 by Nathan Van Arsdale

Landscape Arch from the other side. The photographer noted, “This view of Landscape arch in Arches National Park in Utah requires a climb on stark rock marked only by stone cairns. Well worth it, though.” Photo #23 by Tim Hamilton

Devils Garden Trailhead at Arches National Park. According to Wikipedia, Devil’s Garden has “a series of rock fins that have broken out of the earth due to erosion and produce many spectacular views. The Devil’s Garden Trail that travels throughout Devil’s Garden is just over 7 miles (11 km) long and leads to the Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch, Landscape Arch, Partition Arch, Navajo Arch, Black Arch, Dark Angel monolith, Private Arch, and Fin Canyon. Wall Arch, before its collapse in 2008, was also located here. The trailhead is at the end of the main road in Arches National Park. A campground and amphitheater are also available at the site.” Photo #34 by Sanjay Acharya

Interesting perspective of park. The photographer wrote, “The scale is really weird in this thanks to using my wide-angle lens with a really small aperture. The dead tree in the foreground is actually pretty small, and the rocks in the background very large and a good quarter mile or so away.” Photo #42 by Steve Harbula

Ute tribal rock art taken at Arches National Park, where there are many petroglyphs. Picture shows stylized horse and rider surrounded by bighorn sheep and dog-like animals. This was carved between A.D 1650 & 1850. Photo #43 by Sanjay Acharya

The Petrified Dunes are rock formations in Arches National Park; the ancient sand dunes hardened into stone and later eroded away. The dunes are located off of the park road between the Courthouse Towers and the Windows Area. Photo #44 by Daniel Mayer

We see these wonders assuming they’ll always be there but some are so fragile. Time, ice, water will render them mere ‘rocks’ in the years to come…some appear to be fairly weak…enjoy them while you got ’em.